Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Real Estate > Renting
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 07-19-2014, 03:28 AM
 
Location: Port Charlotte, FL
57 posts, read 51,210 times
Reputation: 34

Advertisements

We signed a lease agreement for a year and then, after the air conditioner broke several times and the repair people said it would get worse and worse we went to the LL. She refused to replace unit. Last bill for 2 people was almost $300. It is only 1200 sq. feet. My father passed we got an inheritance and purchased a house. We asked the LL to allow us to pay 2 months and keep damage deposit even though there was no damage. She refused and now demands that we keep the a/c at 78 degrees inside the vacant condo and said that $300 a month is perfectly normal. Do I have to pay the utilities? They were NOT on when we moved in. She has listed the unit for rent but is upping the rent by $150. There are huge cracks in the tile floor from settling, the guest bath vanity is not attached to the wall, the stove is old. It is NOT a good faith effort to rent the place out. She wants me to pay her a total of $5500 plus utilities for 5 months and THEN she will fix the place and seriously try to rent it. I can't help but feel there is something wrong.

Last edited by kafrak; 07-19-2014 at 03:31 AM.. Reason: forgot some points.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 07-19-2014, 06:09 AM
 
Location: St Thomas, US Virgin Islands
24,665 posts, read 69,418,810 times
Reputation: 26726
The issue about the A/C is something which should be addressed in your lease or by your state laws (those you'll find linked in the first "sticky" on this forum). You need to read both carefully to see what your LL's responsibilities are, and the state laws mandate how to approach the (maintenance) issue with your LL if she's in the wrong. As long as the unit is working it's a point you'd have difficulty legally arguing.

Unless your lease has an early termination clause your LL is under no obligation to release you from it nor to seek a new tenant before you leave. As long as you live there you have to pay the utility bills when billed. Your LL can agree to an early termination fee (this usually amounts to a couple of month's rent) but can't demand from you any utility payments in advance. I assume she provides you with a copy of the bill?

The other issues about a cracked floor, a vanity and an old stove aren't relevant as they were there and you accepted them when you moved in. Nor is the rent she's asking in her advertising.

Most states mandate that the LL mitigate damages by making reasonable effort to re-rent the place if you break your lease and move. You're not being forced to move; you certainly can move whenever you want but will have to face the consequences of doing so depending on your state laws.

Read those laws and your lease. Good luck!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-19-2014, 08:39 AM
 
Location: Port Charlotte, FL
57 posts, read 51,210 times
Reputation: 34
I don't argue with the fact that I am responsible for the rest of the lease, she refuses to negotiate even though I explained I had lost my job and did not have the income. Turns out she wanted me to use my inheritance to purchase her place or use it to pay her. We will come up with the money on a monthly basis, but her insistence that we maintain a constant temperature of 78 degrees in an empty unit is the sticking point. I am having to run 2 accounts for power, one for where we are living and a second for the apartment. She wants me to pay rent monthly through December which comes to $5500 and maintain and pay utilities monthly through December as well. I cannot find anything in the state law that addresses the utilities issue in this particular case. hanks for your guidance.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-19-2014, 08:58 AM
 
Location: St Thomas, US Virgin Islands
24,665 posts, read 69,418,810 times
Reputation: 26726
Quote:
Originally Posted by kafrak View Post
I don't argue with the fact that I am responsible for the rest of the lease, she refuses to negotiate even though I explained I had lost my job and did not have the income. Turns out she wanted me to use my inheritance to purchase her place or use it to pay her. We will come up with the money on a monthly basis, but her insistence that we maintain a constant temperature of 78 degrees in an empty unit is the sticking point. I am having to run 2 accounts for power, one for where we are living and a second for the apartment. She wants me to pay rent monthly through December which comes to $5500 and maintain and pay utilities monthly through December as well. I cannot find anything in the state law that addresses the utilities issue in this particular case. hanks for your guidance.
In this case I suggest you just bail and let her deal with it. Give her back possession of the unit by handing over the keys (have her acknowledge receipt in writing or take a witness with you) and, if the power is in your name, arrange with the utility company to have it turned off a few days after you hand over the keys and advise your landlady accordingly. f she decides to sue you she'll have to prove in court that she's making every effort to re-rent the place. Her advertising the rent to a new tenant by an additional $150 will likely not sit well with any judge. Take those photographs too!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-19-2014, 09:20 AM
 
Location: SoCal
14,530 posts, read 19,975,586 times
Reputation: 10539
^^^^^ this

It is often a hassle to prove a case in court even when the plaintiff is in the right and the defendant in the wrong, and it is ALWAYS a hassle to go to court.

And particularly what STT said about the additional $150 rent she's asking, she is evidently not trying to find an equivalent tenant, she appears to be restricting herself to finding a better replacement tenant. This is in my opinion a tactical legal blunder on her part, and that is the part that may ***** any chance of her enforcing the parts of your lease where you are in the wrong.

I would follow STT's advice and let the cards fall where they may, and be prepared to go to court and defend yourself there. Make sure you have all the documentation possible, and if you have not already done so take a camera and shoot the hell out of the place. It's too bad you don't have images of when you moved in -- or do you? -- but one thing about legal documentation, more is always better even if you don't use it.

I would sure like to see the reason stated in the contract why the air conditioner must be left on. If there is any legal reason for that I can't imagine what it would be.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-19-2014, 11:19 AM
 
Location: Port Charlotte, FL
57 posts, read 51,210 times
Reputation: 34
Thank you both. I want to do the right thing, but I also think she is using and bullying. She has tried to scare me with threats of contacting her attorney. I will retain an attorney and tell her I will give her 2 months rent immediately because I terminated the lease, and turn off the power, unless my attorney advises me differently. You are both great. Thank you
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-19-2014, 11:35 AM
 
Location: St Thomas, US Virgin Islands
24,665 posts, read 69,418,810 times
Reputation: 26726
Quote:
Originally Posted by kafrak View Post
Thank you both. I want to do the right thing, but I also think she is using and bullying. She has tried to scare me with threats of contacting her attorney. I will retain an attorney and tell her I will give her 2 months rent immediately because I terminated the lease, and turn off the power, unless my attorney advises me differently. You are both great. Thank you
With all due respect I wouldn't retain an attorney right now and I certainly wouldn't offer her two month's rent. Once you turn over the keys you can have the power turned off as long as you give her a few day's notice so she can contact the utility company to have the account transferred back to her own name. Confirm in writing everything you do (email is fine for now).

As far as your having previously offered her two month's rent and retention of the security deposit, send her a confirming email that this is what you offered and which she refused and that her counter proposal for you to pay her $5500 plus five months of utilities is unacceptable so you are therefore turning the property back over to her. Then get the keys back to her and let her do whatever she feels the need to do. My guess is that the threats of an attorney are designed to intimidate you and are pretty empty.

As long as you're in a state which requires the LL to mitigate damages (and I assume you verified that) she has no option but to either drop it or file in small claims court at which time (and as noted earlier) this she has to prove.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-19-2014, 11:36 AM
 
Location: Riverside Ca
22,146 posts, read 33,197,505 times
Reputation: 35433
Quote:
Originally Posted by kafrak View Post
Thank you both. I want to do the right thing, but I also think she is using and bullying. She has tried to scare me with threats of contacting her attorney. I will retain an attorney and tell her I will give her 2 months rent immediately because I terminated the lease, and turn off the power, unless my attorney advises me differently. You are both great. Thank you

Doing the right thing is great, but not when the other person is that unreasonable. If you were my tenant, IMO its much easier to work and come to a understanding benefitting both parties.
Is there a clause in the lease stating you must keep AC at 78? I've heard of heat needing to be at x temp to prevent pipes from freezing. You can keep utilities on, but just turn everything off. You do not need to keep AC on. Let her contact her attorney it's not like a attorney can do anything without the court. She cannot just show up with no notices to check up on you. You should start reading your lease and start using those clauses against her. Any repairs? Start sending those certified mail repair notices and keep copies.
I would love to see her justify running the Ac in a unoccupied house, especially since you're paying the rent to a judge
And her asking 150 more as a RE rent/mitigate? Yeah that's not gonna go over well.
I would keep utilities on but shut off all the breakers and incoming water. What does the lease and your state laws say about early termination? The state laws supersede any lease agreement rules.

Go see a attorney and see what they say. Good luck.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-19-2014, 11:41 AM
 
Location: Port Charlotte, FL
57 posts, read 51,210 times
Reputation: 34
Sage advice. I am finding how naive I am. Thank you!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-19-2014, 11:42 AM
 
Location: St Thomas, US Virgin Islands
24,665 posts, read 69,418,810 times
Reputation: 26726
Quote:
Originally Posted by Electrician4you View Post
I would keep utilities on but shut off all the breakers and incoming water.
Disagree with that part. Once the LL has the keys she can just go in there and crank up that A/C and run everything 24/7 to the max which will be on the OP's account - and she sounds like just the sort of LL who would do exactly that. No foul at all if the OP has the utility company schedule a cut-off with a few day's notice so the LL can make her own arrangements for the account to go back into her name.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Real Estate > Renting

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top